Vfw May Not Back Presidential Candidate In '88

July 11, 1986|by HAL MARCOVITZ, The Morning Call

Six years ago the Veterans of Foreign Wars took a step into national politics for the first time by endorsing Ronald Reagan for president.

While the 2.2-million-member organization had been endorsing congressional candidates for years, it had never before given its backing to a candidate for national office. In 1984, the organization again endorsed Reagan.

"We were happy about Reagan's ideas for a defense buildup," said John S. Staum, commander-in-chief of the national VFW.

Future presidential candidates, although already courting the VFW for its support, may be in for a shock in 1988. Staum, in an interview yesterday, said it would not surprise him to see the VFW withhold a presidential endorsement two years from now.

"Frankly, right now I can't say whether we will endorse," said Staum. "We'll be making those decisions in a couple of years."

Staum was in attendance at the Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars annual convention in King of Prussia. More than 8,000 delegates are expected to attend the four-day meeting, which county officials said is the largest convention ever held in the Valley Forge area.

Staum said the membership of the VFW was generally dissatisfied with the defense record of the Carter administration during the 1970s. It wanted to make a statement, he said, that the VFW could be an influential friend to candidates who support a strong national defense.

But after endorsing Reagan, Staum said a vocal segment of the membership criticized the VFW leadership for even entering into national politics.

"The Carter administration had been anti-military, but we received a lot of heat from our members when we endorsed Reagan. They didn't like it when we got involved in the political arena," he said.

Reagan has not been the president the VFW thought it was getting. The organization is particularly distressed at the administration's decision to cut the budget of the Veterans Administration.

The VFW is, in fact, considering a resolution at its convention to support an increase in the budget of the veterans aid agency. The resolution notes that in 1975 the Veterans Administration budget represented 5.1 percent of federal spending while in 1986, the agency's budget has fallen to 2.6 percent of national spending.

"It appears that the facilities which the Veterans Administration presently operates, and which it plans to build or renovate with the funds requested, will not accommodate by any measure the anticipated demand for services over the next 20 years," the resolution states.

"We're not happy with the Reagan administration's stand on veterans benefits. Whether we endorse again, I don't know," said Staum.

Presidential candidates are nevertheless courting the organization. Kansas Sen. Robert Dole, considered to be a contender for the GOP nomination in 1988, was the featured speaker at the convention yesterday.

Candidates in Pennsylvania are also heeding the presence of the VFW. Gubernatorial candidates William W. Scranton III and Robert P. Casey and U.S. Senate candidates Arlen Specter and Robert W. Edgar have all been scheduled to address the delegates.

The Pennsylvania VFW, with 176,000 members, is the largest state organization in the VFW.

"That's a lot of voters," said Staum.

Overall, Staum said he is satisfied with the VFW's record in increasing its membership. The commander-in-chief said the national organization should see a net increase of 16,000 members this year.

He said, "Thousands of World War II vets die each year, and World War I vets are pretty well out of the picture. Thousands of our members move from place to place, others drop out. We make those numbers up and still show an increase," he said.

One reason why the VFW continues to grow, he said, is because it is now making an effort to attractVietnam-era veterans to the organization. Twenty- one state commanders of the VFW are veterans of Vietnam, he said.

Recently, Staum said, he returned to his home post in Coon Rapids, Minn., and found that there were 21 applications filed for membership. Sixteen of those applications were sent in by Vietnam veterans.

Staum believes, too, that many Vietnam veterans are getting to the point in their lives where they own homes, are raising families and are looking around for community groups to join. They are clearly turning to the VFW, he said.

"I didn't join right after I got out of the Marines," said Staum, a 54- year-old Korean War veteran. "I had to be asked. Now, we're getting around to doing the asking."